Those We Leave Behind
by DarkScribe81
Summary: Before Austin Moon went to Afghanistan, he met Ally Dawson at the small roadside diner where she worked. But, as much as he loved her, he hid much of his past from her. Now, part of that past, the mysterious Casey Rhodes, has walked in the diner as well, newly returned to Miami having learned a troubling secret that could place both of them in jeopardy.
1. Chapter 1

****Welcome everyone to Those We Leave Behind, the official and authorized companion piece to I-Dream-of-Hardyz riveting war drama Letters from Home. Written with the permission of that superb author, it tells the tale of someone from Austin's past. I would like to thank I-Dream-of-Hardyz for the opportunity to play in the universe that she has created for her story.****

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own, nor do I profit from, the Disney Channel program 'Austin & Ally' or the characters therein. They are simply used in the following story for my own entertainment. No copyright infringement intended.

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><p>Those We Leave Behind<p>

Chapter One

The crowd had dwindled as the day waned into the early hours of the afternoon. The temperature had climbed well into the nineties, leaving the roadside diner mostly deserted as he stepped inside the entrance and out of the humid early spring heat of southern Florida. The dusty, worn well-traveled soles of his Converse squeaked on the black and white checked linoleum floor, and the melodic chime above the door announced his arrival to the nearly vacant diner as the door closed behind him with an audible swoosh. He loitered immediately inside that door for a moment, rooted in place, and involuntarily shivered in the sudden cold chill of the air-conditioned interior. One or two of the patrons present in the diner had turned in their seats when he entered, but he paid them no heed as he scanned the tables, booths, and counter.

His cobalt blue eyes searched curiously around the diner and he examined every inch of it closely. He had been to the diner many times before and knew every detail of it, but he hadn't been in or near it in the past eight months, not since he had headed out west to California leaving Miami and his past behind in the rearview mirror.

It was weird to stand inside it now when he hadn't been there in so long, every part of it eminently familiar but strangely alien to him in the same instant. So, he allowed his eyes to unhurriedly explore it in curiosity, taking note of every cushioned swivel seat at the counter, upholstered booth, and picture on the walls or polished piece of chrome. He had inspected much of the diner slowly when his eyes landed on her and he couldn't help but stare at her while she worked.

He couldn't explain it, but there was something about her that held his attention. Petite and modestly curvy, she was bent at the waist at the end of one of the booths, her attention focused on cleaning the top of its table briskly with a towel. Her chocolate brown doe eyes were narrowed in concentration, her chestnut hair, accents of amber in its strands, hanging in loose curls about her head. She scrubbed the tabletop with purpose and the exertion of her toils colored the surprisingly pale skin of her cheeks, an oddity to him on someone that lived in a place of almost constant sun, with a pinkish tint. Whether she heard the chime of the door or sensed his stare on her, she abruptly paused in her task and turned her head to look at him.

Their eyes connected and they held each other's stares for several moments. He watched her step back from the booth and straighten her back, folding the towel she held in her hands. She placed it into one of the pockets of the white apron she wore tied about her waist, but never ceased to watch him watch her while she did it.

The connection between them continued for several more moments before he realized that neither of them had made a single move other than her placing of the towel in her apron. He pulled his eyes from hers and bowed his head, purposefully walking to a booth at the back of the diner nowhere near the other patrons. He didn't look at her as he passed her and slid onto the red upholstered bench seat, choosing the booth that permitted him an unobstructed view of the entrances to the diner itself, kitchen, and restrooms. He sat with his back to the wall behind him and reached nonchalantly to retrieve a menu from the table caddy at the other end of the table beneath the window.

He opened the menu and directed his eyes at its plastic laminated pages, but remained acutely conscious of the movement of other people in his peripheral vision. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed her: the chestnut haired brunette, order pad and pen in hand as she warily approached him. He noted the unenthusiastic, tried smile on her lips, the halfhearted attempt to muster as much perkiness as she could in the wake of an evidently busy morning rush. He made no move to betray that he had seen her and waited until she was at the table, absently looking at the menu he held in his hands until he heard her clear her throat to catch his attention.

He turned his head to look at her and cobalt blue met chocolate brown intensely for a second time. Now that they were nearer, he could see her modest beauty and inherent wholesomeness more closely than he had. Her clothes were plain and inexpensive, unimpressively functional. But, those ordinary clothes belied her innate loveliness. He sensed a timid shyness from her and relaxed his body in his seat to hopefully put her at ease, and offered her a small smile.

"Welcome to Bridget's Diner," she said, trying to sound cheerful he noted as she stood at the end of the table. "Party of one today?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Would you like to start with something to drink?" she prompted when he didn't continue.

He returned his attention to the menu in his hands and fiddled with it. He closed it after a moment and looked at the back cover where he suspected the beverages were most likely listed. He scanned the selection at the bottom of the back cover, but eventually looked back at her sheepishly. "Um, do you have any lemonade?"

"Yes, we do," she said as her expression brightened. The smile on her lips looked more natural now and she was nodding her head. "We have flavored lemonade too. Strawberry, peach…"

"Kiwi?" he interrupted her, looking at her with a hesitant but hopeful expression. To her, he must have looked like an excited child because she evidently couldn't help but laugh. She had a pleasant laugh, he noted, adding that observation to his assessment of her.

"Yeah," she said. "We even have kiwi. Would you like one?"

"Yes, please," he said with a wider smile. He allowed his calm but friendly demeanor to momentarily subside as he almost enthusiastically bounced in his seat in anticipation. For him, kiwi lemonade was like what pancakes were to his high school best friend.

"Okay," she nodded her head, her smile wider as well. Her earlier laughter was now an assumed chuckle. "That's kiwi lemonade to drink… anything else at the moment?"

He looked back briefly at the menu and he reopened it. "Um… not at the moment."

"Not a problem. I'll be back in a minute."

She nodded and turned on her heel to head behind the counter. He watched her leave without a word and she went back behind the counter. Taking a soda glass from a rack, she scooped ice into it and poured the fresh squeezed lemonade into it. Retrieving the bottle of kiwi syrup from beneath the soda station, she squeezed a couple of squirts into the lemonade and stirred it with a straw, replacing the straw with a new one when she was done. He noticed her turn her head to look at him as she worked, but pretended not to see her taking the opportunity to surreptitiously observe him.

He was about her age, she noted, possibly a little older, someone that looked definitely out of high school and probably in college. He was eminently attractive too, she conceded. He was tall, taller than her by almost a foot, but lean and well-built with a mop head of unruly raven hair that looked resistant to every attempt to tame it. But, she suspected he wore that mop purposefully messy. His skin was tanned and smooth, probably from many hours spent beneath the sun, and his body was obviously toned, his plain black v-neck t-shirt clinging to the contours of obvious muscle beneath it. His dark wash denim jeans were distressed and torn with several small holes, snugly adhered and molded to the curves of his thighs and backside.

But, his eyes were his most prominent feature, she decided. The way they looked at you from beneath his raven hair pierced the soul and made you want to shiver. They were haunting and eerie, every look they casted laced with hidden meaning. He wore a conspicuous amount of jewelry too. Her eyes settled on the leather cord about his neck and the small rectangular piece of polished metal dangling from it above the hollow of his throat. Several rings adorned his hands in addition to the charm necklace, though it was the silver or platinum band on his left hand that captured her attention.

It was a wedding ring. He was married.

He didn't look much older than nineteen… and he was married.

For a reason she couldn't understand, that revelation fascinated her.

She shook her head to clear it and chastised herself. She didn't even know him and she was entranced by him. Not that she had an interest in him. She had a boyfriend and she would never cheat on him. But, she couldn't help but feel like there was something about the raven haired young man that pulled a cord inside her and that was what captivated her about him. She had to admit to herself that she had been shocked when she had seen him earlier, though she hadn't known why. Seeing him stand there immediately inside the door had awoken something inside her, but she couldn't place it or explain it. Almost like she had seen him before, but she couldn't remember when or where she had.

She noticed him close his menu, taking that as her cue that it was to return to the table. She reached the booth as he was placing the menu back into the table caddy and set the glass of green hued lemonade before him.

"One kiwi lemonade as promised," she said.

"Thank you," he said, pulling the drink toward him and placing his lips around the straw before taking a sip. He closed his eyes when he was done and sat back to savor the taste as he smiled. "Damn, that's good."

She chuckled, tipping her head in mock salute. "We aim to please."

He added his own chuckle to hers. "Seriously, though, thank you," he said, looking at her with an expression obviously meant to try to communicate the sincerity of his words.

"You're welcome," she said quietly, hoping he wouldn't be offended by her stare. She shook her head after a minute and smiled. "Would you like anything else?"

"Um," he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He dipped his head apologetically. "I'm sorry, but to tell you the truth I'm not all that hungry."

She burst out laughing and shook her head a second time. "That's okay. Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with."

"I will," he said. "Thank you…"

"I'm sorry," she said, realizing she hadn't introduced herself. "Where are my manners? I'm Ally, Ally Dawson."

"Thank you, Ally," he said. He offered his hand. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Casey. Casey Rhodes."

"Pleasure," she said as she shook his hand. She almost left it at that, but the diner was slow and she allowed her curiosity to take over. "I don't mean to intrude, but may I ask why you came in today if it isn't our wonderful food?"

He laughed. "It's silly really. But, I, um, was in the neighborhood and couldn't help take a trip down memory lane so to speak. I know it's weird and I haven't been near this place in a while, but I couldn't help myself. Especially since I had a friend that would have possibly come in here a while back and I'm hoping coming here could help me remember him."

"That's not silly at all. I take it that person meant a lot to you?"

Casey nodded. "Yeah, he does… he did. He is… He was my friend. He was my best friend, in fact. We were inseparable off and on for most of our lives until we both went in separate directions."

"Oh," she said. "Do you know where he lives now? Maybe you could look him up and stop by."

"I doubt that," he said and bowed his head.

"Why do you say that? Do you think he wouldn't want to see you?"

"He is in Afghanistan," Casey said quietly. "He went into the Army and I went out of town, out west, on business. The last time I saw or heard from him was when I dropped him off outside this diner the day I headed out of town to wait for his bus back to base so he could deploy with his unit."

"Oh," she said. She stepped toward him and laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

He breathed in deeply, exhaling slowly, and forced a smile despite his sad expression. "It's okay. I've come to terms with what happened, but I wish I could see and talk to him now. I… have a lot I wish I could tell him."

"Why did you stop talking?"

"We had an argument," he told her. "He and I had a very close relationship, almost like brothers… which was kind of ironic because he always was one for landing himself in trouble a lot of the time and I was always pulling his butt out of it."

_It's even more ironic with what you've learned recently_, he told himself.

She frowned and sank onto the bench seat opposite him, taking his larger hand in her small one. "It probably doesn't help, but I know what it's like to have someone over there."

"You do?" he asked curiously.

"Yes," she said, nodding. "I have someone in the Army, too. My boyfriend."

"Oh," he said. "When did he head over?"

"It's been about seven or eight months now," she said, her lips creased in a smile at the memory. But, she suddenly smiled more widely as another memory occurred to her. "I wouldn't even have known him if he hadn't wandered in here looking for pancakes while he waited for his bus."

His expression suddenly turned serious and he leaned in to look at her more closely. "Pancakes?" he choked.

_They were seated at one of the booths in the back, nowhere near the other patrons, and his best friend sat across from him with a stack of pancakes on his plate. He had the corner of his napkin tucked into the collar of his t-shirt as he lavished the pancakes with maple syrup out of the bottle he held suspended above the table in his hand, his expression exceptionally childlike. He watched him bathe the pancakes in rich, thick syrup and shook his head, chuckling to himself as he sat across from him. He watched as his best friend excitedly set the now almost empty bottle aside and snatched his fork from beside his plate. He cut into the pancakes with the side of it and stabbed the detached part, quickly moving it to his mouth. He pulled the fork from his mouth and smiled as he chewed, contently sitting back in his seat with his eyes closed while he savored the flavor of the pancakes._

"Yes," she said, confused. Her words pulled him out of his memory. "I said pancakes."

He looked to the side for a moment before turning back to her. When he spoke, he chose his words carefully and said them slowly so there was no chance she could misunderstand him. "Your… boyfriend… was he about my height, say six-one, almost blond hair with brown eyes?"

"Um, yes, that sounds like him," she said; her forehead furrowing in further confusion. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," he said quickly, putting a smile on his face. "Um, does he ever talk about his life? I mean, before he enlisted in the Army."

Ally shook her head. "Um, no, he doesn't. Not really. I've been meaning to ask him. Most likely before he's due home on leave."

"He's coming home on leave?"

"Yes, in the middle of March."

"The middle of March," Casey repeated.

"Yes."

"Your boyfriend… um, do you mind if I ask you his name?"

"I don't mind at all. It's Austin, Austin Moon."

He reacted like someone had punched him hard in the stomach, but he recovered quickly. His eyes momentarily widened in recognition at the name before he schooled his expression into an ambiguous mask that hid the turmoil within him caused by it.

It was the name of someone that had once meant more to him than he was prepared to admit to someone he had only met so recently.

Casey pulled his phone from his pocket abruptly when she said the name and checked the time. "Would you look at the time? Um, I need to head out." He quickly stood, shoving his phone back into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. He tossed a ten dollar bill before her on the tabletop. "Thank you, Ally. It was nice meeting you."

He hesitated, wallet in hand. "Tell your boyfriend… tell him to stay safe."

"I will," she said, ignoring the money he had set beside her as he closed his wallet, shoved it in his back pocket, turned on his heel, and almost ran to the door. She quickly pulled herself out of the booth and pursued him hurriedly toward the door, confused by his inexplicable behavior. "Wait! Please wait!"

He stopped at the door as she called out despite every desire within him to escape. He needed to talk to Clara, need to tell her what he had learned, and most of all he needed to decide what to do next now that the opportunity had presented itself to possibly reconnect with his best friend. He turned and looked back at her, his hand on the door, ready to push it open so he could leave.

"Your friend," she said, stepping toward him. "What was his name? Maybe I can see if my boyfriend can pass a message to him for you."

He stood there for a moment, looking like he was debating it. In the end, he sighed resignedly. He turned his head back toward the door so he wasn't look at her when he quietly said his next words.

"His name is Austin Moon. And tell him… tell him… I'm back in town."

She was too stunned and he was too quick for her to reply before he vanished out the door. He didn't look back as he sprinted to his car… completely oblivious to the person using a camera with a telephoto lens to take his picture as he ran the short distance.


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own, nor do I profit from, the Disney Channel program 'Austin & Ally' or the characters therein. They are simply used in the following story for my own entertainment. No copyright infringement intended.

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><p>Those We Leave Behind<p>

Chapter Two

The distinct throaty roar of classic American muscle and the raucous howl of the wind whipping his raven mop about his head resonated in his ears as the scenery blurred around him. The well tread sole of a Converse shoe pressing the pedal into the floorboard and pushing the needle well passed eighty on the odometer; Casey clutched the wheel in the palms of his hands, the red needle climbing even higher as he spun it to one side and sent the car in which he rode snapping into a sharp turn. The sturdy, but agile car barreled through the turn with the brutish power of her kind and onto a side street in a rush of baby blue body and white racing stripes. Her unique, distinctive roar revving louder as it raced along the street, turning the heads of pedestrians as they passed.

He wouldn't have ordinarily pushed his beloved Daisy so badly without reason because he cared so much about her. She was one of his most prized possessions, the 1970 Dodge Charger that he and his childhood best friend Austin Moon had rescued from a slow, wretched death rusting in a scrap heap. Her restoration from that broken shell to her present pristine state had been an experience that he had happily shared with his blond friend the summer between their junior and senior years.

But, his encounter with Ally Dawson back at the diner minutes before had unsettled him more than he would have normally admitted and the blinding run between the diner and what Clara had dubbed their beachfront "compound" was precisely what he needed to sooth the turmoil that encounter had stirred within his disconcerted soul. But, on the other hand, his treasured ride was a classic muscle car after all and she had been built with sheer unbridled power and ample speed in mind, and he had to admit that like every teenage male out there blessed to own such a vehicle he rejoiced in having that white-knuckle combination placed in his hands.

He slowed sharply as he approached the next intersection, easing his foot from the pedal so he traveled at a more reasonable speed before he stopped completely alongside the other cars waiting at the red light. Her throaty roar diminished to a steady rumble, Daisy idled around him, the vibrations of her power communicated to him through tremors in the steering wheel. Soothed by those tremors, he relaxed into his seat and stared ahead of him, his body present but his mind elsewhere.

_Casey watched his blond friend smile sheepishly from the opposite side of the fire, holding his guitar tightly against his broad, muscular bare chest. He scowled at the boy, shaking his head at his antics as he stoked the fire. A sudden breeze whipped up around them, causing the fire to belch sparks into the air and both boys to back up._

_"It's fine," the blond said edgily, as if he didn't believe himself._

_Casey huffed while Austin rounded the fire and sank into one of two old lawn chairs they had set up on the sand near their makeshift firepit in his backyard. "If you burn my house down…"_

_"I'll buy you a new one," the blond returned without hesitation, leaning back into a lawn chair. Casey could hear the excitement in his voice as he fantasized about the future. "When I'm rich and famous, selling out stadiums. Well, you'd be there too. At that point, we could sell this place and own a mansion! Imagine that."_

_"Let's work on just making the band sound decent," Casey said dryly, padding barefoot across the soft, powdery sand toward the blond._

_"Where is Gavin anyway?"_

_Casey rolled his eyes, taking a seat next to the blond as the fire began to burn slower, into a more normal blaze. "Who the hell knows? Forget him. Let's just play."_

_Casey noticed Austin shrug, taking a sip of the iced tea they had made earlier. The blond never took his eyes from the dancing fire, but Casey could tell that he was deep in thought. Most people didn't notice it about him, but the blond was a very deep thinker despite his usual impulsive, spontaneous behavior. Austin would sit for hours some times and dwell in his thoughts, looking unhappy and dismal to those that didn't know him until he zoned back into reality._

_So, Casey waited quietly until the boy was done with his contemplations, taking the time to unobtrusively observe him. Winter in Miami wasn't like winter anywhere else. Despite it being January, the temperatures were in the high seventies and the air was still warm like summer. So, the blond had ditched his shirt, shoes, and socks when he had arrived and now reclined in his lawn chair in his deceptively tattered dark wash jeans, the waistband of his blue plaid boxers visible above the low-riding jeans. He held his guitar in his lap, absently strumming a meaningless tune while his mind was elsewhere._

_It was a few minutes later, when he heard the blond inhale a sudden, sharp breath._

_"I should be finished up with my last class in two weeks," Austin said happily._

_Casey nodded, not replying immediately. Like Casey himself, the blond had been working hard to graduate early. He couldn't wait to escape Miami and see the world. He didn't care about anything most did; he wanted to have the piece of paper in his hand that would technically set him free. Now, if only his friend could convince his parents to do the same._

_"Great. Have you talked to your Dad yet?"_

_The blond's smile faltered at the mention of his father. He didn't look at Casey, but he did dip his head, slouch his shoulders, and slump lower in his seat in resignation. _

_"I've been avoiding it," he admitted, his hands pausing their quiet, contemplative strumming of his guitar._

_"He expects you to start the community college in the summer," he scolded the blond. "You need to talk to him before they register you for classes. That's only going to fuel the fire to his anger."_

_"I know that. I haven't had a good chance to talk to him yet. You know how he is." Casey nodded quietly. _

_"Don't wait," Casey added after a moment. "You know what could happen then."_

_Indeed, his friend did know. But, he didn't need Casey to constantly remind him of it. So, the raven haired boy decided to leave the conversation about the touchy, awkward subject of the blond's father for another time. He turned in his chair to look at the blond and watched him quietly resume his strumming of his guitar, his expression distant. But, as he watched him, Casey had a feeling that there was trouble on the horizon for the blond._

The sound of a car horn snapped him back out of his memories and Casey blinked, noticing that the lane ahead of him was empty of other cars. The light had changed as his mind had wandered, he noted, and now he was holding up traffic. Shaking his head to chastise himself for the lapse, he stepped on the pedal a heartbeat later and continued through the intersection. When he reached the outskirts of the city, he pressed the pedal to the floorboard again and turned his mind inward for a second time while continuing to pay attention to the road ahead.

_Pink._

_Bright bubblegum pink with the Hollister brand name etched into the equally pink waistband in white letters. That was the color of his trunk underwear. In another time and situation, he would have been trying hard not to laugh. But, at the moment, Casey wasn't too concerned with whether his blond friend's choice of underwear was amusing. Not while he was hauling said friend in a drunken stupor toward his car with one arm wrapped around his back for support and the rest of said friend's clothes bundled in his other arm._

_Besides, Casey was more into blue._

_He scowled; eyes hard. His feeling two weeks before that there was trouble on the horizon for his friend had been accurate and it had been proven in a spectacular fashion. Now, Austin stumbled beside him, one bare foot catching the back of the other at the ankle. _

_Casey halted immediately, catching his friend and holding him until he rebalanced himself. Doing his best to support his friend, he waited until the blond had planted the soles of both his bare feet on the concrete walkway. It was comical, he supposed, a fully clothed teenage boy helping another obviously drunk, almost naked teenage boy toward a car. Someone that didn't know them could even think they were a couple and not a close friend coming to the rescue of another close friend. But, they wouldn't know the scene that Casey had witnessed inside the house behind them._

_The blond boy sprawled on a couch with a blond bimbo suckling at a certain part of his anatomy while her hands tried to relieve him of that pink underwear. Casey shut his eyes and suppressed a shudder as revulsion rose inside him like bile, cringing at the memory. He hoped desperately that he could eventually erase that memory, but he was certain it would haunt him. Reopening his eyes, he heaved his shoulder and restarted their slow march toward the curb where Daisy waited._

_They reached curb and he balanced his friend with his hip for a moment as he set the bundle of clothes in his other arm atop the baby blue roof of the car. Fishing his keys from his pocket, he unlocked the passenger side door and opened it. Keys clasped in one hand, he took hold of one of the blond's arms while his other hand grasped his side. Heaving, he swung the blond around so that his back was to the car. He lowered him slowly into the passenger seat, releasing him as the blond's back made contact with the seatback. Lifting the blond's legs, he swung them into the car._

_Stepping back, he shook his head, looking at the blond appraisingly for a moment. Making a quick decision, he walked to the rear of the car and opened the trunk. Pushing aside the guitar case that lay inside, he retrieved the blanket he kept there and closed the trunk, the presence of the guitar a reminder of why he hadn't been here sooner for his friend. He had been at an audition, something he hadn't told the blond boy. Guilt burned inside him because of that. He hadn't wanted to deliberately mislead him, but it was obvious that the band they were in wasn't doing so well. They were the only ones in the band that could sing. But, they had always been a musical duo. And it wasn't like he had been planning to leave his blond friend in the dust. He had promised himself that were the audition successful, he would market them together._

_You couldn't have Casey Rhodes without Austin Moon._

_They were an inseparable pair and had been since preschool with only a handful of exceptions. But, had he told his blond friend, Austin would have insisted on telling Gavin, their other bandmate, and Casey couldn't have had that. It was endearing that Austin was so loyal to people, but they both knew that they couldn't trust Gavin. He had forced his way into the band after all, leaving them no choice but to include him._

_Gavin Young._

_He was the cause of their current predicament. The house they were at was his house, the house from which Casey had had to rescue Austin. Casey didn't know why Austin had been here, but it was where he had been when Casey had located him. And with what he had witnessed inside, he wondered what would have happened to Austin if he hadn't drunk dialed him. Casey had been on his way back from the audition, confident that it had went well, when that call has come in. He hadn't known why Austin had been calling him, but the minute he heard his slurred speech he had known he was in trouble. Fortunately, Casey had downloaded a phone-tracking app onto Austin's phone with his friend's permission since the blond had the annoying habit of misplacing his phone all the time._

_That app had led him here. Now, he returned to the passenger side door with the blanket in hand, unfolding it and stooping inside the car to lay it on his friend. He tucked it in around his waist so that his lap and legs were covered. Austin had passed out, he noticed, his chest rising and falling as he breathed. Sighing, Casey stood and stepped back, quietly closing the car door. He retrieved the bundle of clothes from the roof and walked to the driver's side, opening the door. He pushed the seat forward and set the clothes on the backseat. Pushing the seat back, he started to climb into the car._

_"Rhodes?"_

_Casey halted, his head snapped around and his cobalt blue eyes narrowed. He had been hoping for a clean escape without the need for a confrontation with Gavin, but it appeared that that wasn't that lucky today. He was hesitant to react to the sudden appearance of the Southerner, mainly because he was certain he would have several choice words for him. But, he nonetheless pulled his foot from the car and turned his head, laying his hands on the roof and open door as he stared coldly at the teen that had said his name. The brunette stared back with equal coldness in his own narrowed eyes. He was as tall as both Casey and Austin, but not as built as them, so he wasn't nearly as intimidating. But, he had had a certain quality about him that made Casey wary nevertheless and so watched him carefully as he stood there._

_"Gavin," Casey said shortly._

_"What are you doing here?" Gavin said._

_"Picking up my friend," Casey said, pointing at the roof of the car and Gavin's eyes dropped momentarily to see Austin sleeping in the passenger seat. "You couldn't by chance tell me why he was here?"_

_Gavin hesitated, his eyes returning to the boy on the other side of the car from him. Casey decided that it looked like the brunette was taking the time to consider his next words. When he did speak, he was completely nonchalant. "Oh, yeah, I ran into Austin at the mall earlier. He was looking for you, but couldn't find you."_

_"But, how did he end up here?"_

_Gavin shrugged. "He was upset, another argument with his old man, I think." _

_He titled his head to the side and his lips curled into a smirk that immediately sent chills down Casey's spine. Gavin chuckled as he continued in a tone as cocky as his attitude. "He needed to blow off some steam and relax, so I told I could help with that."_

_Casey scowled as an odd mixture of emotions burned inside him. Irritation and anger at Gavin for his idea of "helping" Austin relax; guilt that he hadn't been there for his friend when he had evidently needed him, and renewed concern for Austin at the mention of an argument between him and his father. It was no secret that Michael Moon and his son didn't exactly see eye-to-eye. Casey knew about Michael Moon's temper because he had had it directed at him more than once. Mr. Moon didn't exactly approve of his son's friendship with Casey and neither of the boys could understand why._

_And it explained why Austin had allowed himself to end up here. Austin was normally a calm, collected person that occasionally acted immaturely and impulsively unless he was angry. Once he was angry, he was a hothead that didn't think before he really acted impulsively. And an argument with his father would definitely have made him angry._

_He wondered what the argument between father and son had been about this time, but that was something he could discuss with a sober Austin later. At the moment, the brunette boy in front of him was his focus._

_"And boozing and hooking him up with some slut is your idea of helping him?"_

_"Hey," Gavin said, raising his hands uppermost while laughing as his smirk broadened. "He looked like he was enjoying it."_

_Disgusted, Casey wanted to round the car and smack that smirk from Gavin's face. But, someone had to be the mature one here. He gritted his teeth and took a deep, hopefully calming breath._

_"I don't think it's the kind of help he needed," Casey spat._

_"Look, Rhodes," Gavin returned. "You weren't around, I was, and I didn't hear him saying no. You want to baby him, to sit with him around that firepit in your backyard; strumming guitars late at night while you look at the stars, listen to the waves from the beach, and talk about your feelings with him make sure you're around next time. I was just showing him a different way to deal with his shit."_

_Gavin pulled his phone from his pocket, holding it up in front of himself. "Want to see the video I recorded?"_

_"You recorded him… and her?"_

_Gavin laughed. "Well, yeah."_

_"Why would you do something like that when you're supposedly helping him?"_

_"I dunno," Gavin smirked. "I might need it later."_

_Before he knew it, Casey had rounded Daisy's front bumper in a blur of motion, one hand closing on Gavin's shirt while the other snatched the phone from his hand._

_"What the hell, Rhodes?" Gavin snarled as Casey shoved him back._

_Cradling the phone in his hand, Casey unlocked it, opening the camera app. Had Gavin been smarter, he would have had a lock code. Gavin stepped forward, arm outstretched in an attempt to snatch the phone back. Without thought, Casey's arm went into motion, his elbow swinging up and connecting with Gavin's face. The brunette stumbled backwards, clutching his nose as blood poured through his fingers._

_"Shit, Rhodes!"_

_His grandmother had always taught him that violence was the last option of a desperate man while she was raising him, but he didn't feel any remorse as he stared coldly at Gavin. Casey returned his attention to the phone in his hand and found the video in question. He tapped it, but didn't play it. __**I won't let you blackmail Austin**__, he thought._

_He tapped the small trashcan at the bottom corner of the screen to delete the video._

_He was about to toss Gavin his phone back when he decided to check something else. Going back into the camera roll, he scanned through the still photos. Sure enough, there were stills of Austin… and the blond slut. Casey tapped on one and the picture enlarged to fill the screen. Austin sat shirtless on couch, reclined into the cushions and eyes closed with his head lulled back. The blond suckled at his neck, one of her hands lying on his abs while the other was inside his open jeans…_

_Casey found the trashcan button again._

_Delete, delete, delete… once he was satisfied, Casey turned to Gavin and tossed him his phone with a flick of his wrist. The brunette caught it in a bloody hand and glared at Casey, a glare which Casey returned. Turning to fully face Gavin, Casey took a step toward him, causing the shorter brunette to stumble back._

_"I will say this once," Casey said, his voice low, cold, and oddly calm. "You are out of the band. You are not allowed near Austin again." He motioned absently with a hand toward Gavin's noise. "Go near him again… and I'll do worse."_

_Without an answer, Casey spun on his heel and marched toward Daisy. Climbing into the driver's seat, he slammed the door and started the car. With a throaty growl of its powerful engine, the Charger leapt away from the curb as a Converse clad foot smashed the accelerator. In a blur of baby blue and white racing stripes, Daisy carried them away from Gavin's house._

Focused on the road ahead, he tried not to dwell on the memory of that day outside of Gavin's house or the events that would come of it, because that was where his oldest friendship had begun to unravel before his eyes.

**Reviews are appreciated  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own, nor do I profit from, the Disney Channel program 'Austin & Ally' or the characters therein. They are simply used in the following story for my own entertainment. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

><p>Those We Leave Behind<p>

Chapter Three

The sun had begun to sink toward the horizon when Casey turned onto the two-lane service road leading to the secluded property he shared with his spouse. Here, well outside the city proper, the area was spartan, more open, the houses separated by distance and obscured by bushes from each other. It was a small, quiet neighborhood of single-level residences isolated and removed from the bustling heart of Miami, ideal for people like them that wanted the privacy and anonymity of such a neighborhood.

It was a close-knit community here on the service road. It was somewhere you could hide out in the open without being noticed as long as you lived there too, because it was somewhere that strangers attracted attention and suspicion immediately.

That was one of the reasons they had returned here.

He reached the end of the service road where it dead ended near the lot closest to the beach and he had never been happier than he was in that moment to see the small beachfront residence nestled back on the property. The property was bordered by a white picket fence, blue hydrangea prominent along it, the house itself painted an even paler blue that contrasted sharply with its white storm shutters.

Pulling Daisy into the driveway and alongside the house, he pulled in to the side and next to the charcoal gray Porsche that was already there. Smiling as his eyes landed on the Porsche, he put the car in park and pulled the key from the ignition. Grabbing his backpack from the passenger seat, he climbed out and secured the car before he started for the door.

The presence of the Porsche was all the evidence he needed.

She was here.

Allowing his smile to widen as he neared, he quickened his pace to the door, paused to unlock it, and pushed it open with excited haste. Stepping into the living room, he slipped his backpack from his shoulder and set it beside the door. He closed the door, locked it behind him, and quickly removed his shoes, placing them beside his backpack. In that instant, he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, the pleasing aromas coming from the kitchen teasing him with their scents. Opening his eyes, he slid out of his jacket and hung it one of the hooks in a row on the wall beside the door. Quietly, he padded across the floor on socked feet to the doorway that separate the living room from the kitchen. He leaned on the doorframe, his hands in his pockets, and watched her at the stove.

Clara Rhodes.

_"So, are you headed out tonight?"_

_Casey turned to the blond in the lawn chair beside him with a knowing look of disapproval added to his questioning words and Austin rolled his eyes with a shake of his head. He knew Austin wasn't a bad person, but he did have a reputation around school as a womanizer and player that loved to party hard, his disreputable escapades an endless revolving door of young women agreeable to his less than pure intentions. Casey was disconcerted and unnerved by the casualness with which the blond treated his relationships and casual encounters with those women. But, as much as he didn't condone his actions, he knew Austin needed them as distractions to numb him because of the pressures and relieve the stress he experienced from his parents on a daily basis as much as that sounded like he was making excuses for the blond.._

_He wasn't proud of Austin's philandering, but he could tolerate it… to a point._

_"Yeah, dude," Austin said, shamelessly smirking. Casey tried not to wince as he heard him laugh beside him, choosing instead to focus on the bonfire burning before them in the sand. "In fact, I'm headed to the party at Brianna's house."_

_His smirked broadened as he turned in his seat to look at Casey. "Brianna invited me personally," he snickered._

_"Dude," Casey said, shaking his head._

_Austin laughed beside him, tossing his head back. "Hey, I can't help it," he said nonchalantly as he stretched and motioned at his body. "The ladies love me."_

_Casey took a sip of the kiwi lemonade he had made earlier, rolling his eyes as he bent to retrieve the bottle from the sand beside him. But, what the blond said next made him whip his head around to look at him._

_"What about you? You hooking up with Clara?"_

_Casey coughed as he almost choked on the beverage, almost doing a spit-take with his kiwi lemonade as his eyes widened in shock at the blond's words. "C-Clara?" he stuttered. "What?"_

_Austin's laughter rang in the raven haired boy's ears and Casey recovered from his initial shock and narrowed his eyes at his friend. "Yeah, dude, Clara."_

_Casey wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and set the bottle of kiwi lemonade back in the sand beside his chair suddenly unable to look Austin in the eye. "What about her?"_

_"Are you hooking up with her?"_

_"W-what?" Casey shook his head, not meeting the blond's eye. "No."_

_Austin snorted beside him._

_"Dude, do you think I'm blind? You two have had that weird thing between you two for a while now," Austin said, looking at Casey with a knowing expression and conspiratorial smile. "You know; the whole 'will they, won't they' thing. It's obvious that you two have been dancing around having a relationship for years now. I've seen you two at school and elsewhere, dude."_

_Casey smiled sheepishly, turning his head so that his friend couldn't see the blush that spread on his cheeks. There weren't a lot of subjects that could entice such a response from him, but Clara Shayne was one of them. Since he had met her freshmen year, they had had an instant connection. They had both lost their parents early, him to murder and her to an accident. It had made her a kindred spirit to him. Someone he could connect to on a level that he couldn't even with Austin._

_It didn't hurt that she was stunningly beautiful, either. With blond hair to rival the boy sitting beside him and rich chocolate eyes that you could so easily become lost in, she had a succulent body with supple curves and breathtakingly tanned skin. She was perfect, as far as he was concerned. And he enjoyed every opportunity to look upon her with a longing he couldn't properly describe._

_"Ah, hello," Austin said, snapping his fingers. "Are you with me, man?"_

_"Huh?" he turned back to the blond, startled._

_Austin laughed. "Dude, you zoned out there on me."_

_"No, I didn't."_

_"Yes, you did," Austin laughed. He leaned in and added his next words with a snicker. "Thinking about Clara, weren't you?"_

_Casey huffed at the blond's teasing and turned his attention irritably back to the bonfire. "Yeah, maybe I was. What about it?"_

_Austin's laughter intensified. "Dude, you have it bad!"_

_Casey turned a withering glare on his friend… and Austin laughed harder. With no desire to have Austin ridicule him, he angrily heaved himself out of his chair and stumped toward the house, clutching his guitar in hand by its neck. He had reached the house and stepped through the sliding glass patio door into the kitchen when he heard quick footsteps behind him as Austin raced to catch up to him. The blond laid a hand on his shoulder, making him halt and turning him around to face him._

_"Hey, man," he said, his earlier mirth now absent from his expression and replaced by a look of remorseful concern. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."_

_Casey shot him a hard look and shrugged his hand from his shoulder as he walked into the living room from the kitchen. Austin continued to pursue him, directly on his heels. He stepped to the corner opposite the kitchen doorway where he and Austin kept their instruments, setting his guitar on one of the two empty stands there. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, keeping his back to Austin, and calmed himself before talking to the blond again._

_"It's okay," he sighed. "I-I…"_

_Austin approached him quietly and put his hand back on Casey's shoulder with a pained expression, looking like he wanted to save the raven haired boy from further embarrassment at his hands. "I know. Look, I'm sorry that I mentioned her."_

_Casey shot him a thankful look. He didn't want to admit it, especially to himself or Austin, but he was certain that he was in love with Clara. And not the type of school boy crush love that teenagers experienced in high school, either. But, a deep, passionate love that coursed in his veins and caused his heart to quicken whenever she was near him. But, he was certain as well that she didn't feel the same way as much as he wanted it. At least, she had never even hinted that she did. The most they had done was indulge from time to time in releasing their mutual sexual frustrations. But, that wasn't love, that was hormones._

_Casey didn't mention that, though._

_"Are you going to be okay?" Austin asked quietly, his tone laced with obvious concern._

_Casey nodded, though he wasn't certain. "Yeah, I just need… time."_

_Austin nodded. "Look… I can cancel on Brianna. Why don't we can hang tonight? We can hang like we did before the whole thing with me and Piper."_

_"No," Casey said, shaking his head. "Go. Have a good time."_

_"There'll be other parties."_

_"I know, but… honestly, I don't want you to cancel because of me."_

_The blond didn't look too convinced and opened his mouth to speak, but Casey held up a hand to stop him. "I kind of want time to myself too," the raven haired boy added quietly._

_"Okay," Austin said, nodding his head. Casey could see the hurt in his eyes and it hurt to say the words as much as he knew it must have hurt to hear them. "I'll see you when I come back."_

_Casey nodded absently._

_Austin whirled on the heel of one bare foot and headed toward the spare bedroom without another word, and Casey watched his back retreat into the room until the door closed behind him. The spare bedroom was something of a second bedroom for Austin whenever he stayed with Casey. While technically a bedroom that anyone could use, they had decorated it in the blond's tastes with posters from his favorite bands, bedding of his choosing, and stuffed it with his instruments that they didn't keep in the corner out here in the living room. In retrospect, it was more Austin's room than the room he had in the house he shared with his parents, personalized to his personality._

_Casey stared at the closed door for several moments before he turned and walked into the living room proper. He sank onto the couch and reached for the remote, turning on the television. He decided to abstain from using the array of gaming consoles beneath the television or the sophisticated entertainment center, content to lazily flip channels while his mind wandered._

_He eventually turned off the television and was strumming on his guitar __when__ the door to Austin's room reopened. The blond exited the room completely dressed, back in the shirt, socks, and shoes he had had on when he had arrived earlier. He walked to where Casey was lounging on the couch and stood behind the couch._

_"Are you out of here?" Casey asked._

_Austin nodded. "Yeah, the party started already… but you know me," he said in an attempt at levity, smiling. He puffed up his chest. "The party doesn't actually start until Austin Moon is there."_

_Casey snorted. "I bet Brianna already has condoms ready for you," he teased dryly._

_The blond retaliated by rolling his eyes and shoving Casey's shoulder. "You're just jealous because there's a chance that I could have sex with someone tonight."_

_"Well, in case you do, make sure you have it wrapped up properly," Casey retorted, annoyed that his friend would assume he out of the two of them had more chance of sleeping with someone tonight. Not that Casey planned on it. He had every intention of staying here at the beach house alone. But, it wasn't out of the realm of possibilities that it could happen. He had never told Austin about his... encounters... with Clara. But, instead of showing his annoyance, he throttled it and shuddered dramatically in mock dread as though the thought of Austin possibly having unprotected sex with Brianna disturbed him. Which, he had to admit; it kind of did since Brianna's reputation around school was worse than Austin's by about a thousand times. He looked at Austin pointedly. "You don't know who she's been with before you."_

_"Trust me, I aware of that," Austin agreed, and Casey could see in his eyes that he meant it. "I don't think you could throw a rock at school without hitting someone that Brianna has slept with."_

_Casey nodded and turned back to his guitar. "Remember that."_

_"I will," he said as his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and checked it. "It's Brianna. I have to head out. See you later, man."_

_The two embraced in a brotherly hug before Austin vanished through the front door, leaving Casey alone in the solitude and seclusion of his beach house. He heard a car door open and close before the sound of the car in question receding into the distance as Austin undoubtedly drove his car along the service road to the main expressway leading back into heart of Miami. He reclined into the cushions of the couch, lulling his head back and closing his eyes in an attempt to relax. He concentrated on blanking his mind, but it wasn't more than ten minutes before he heard the sound of a car approaching on the service lane and turning into the driveway outside. Casey chuckled as he sat up and set his guitar on the cushion beside him._

_"Austin, what did you forget?" he murmured to himself as he started to rise. The sound of the car stopped outside and he heard footsteps on the porch a minute later. Someone knocked on the door which was unusual to him. He did receive the occasional visitor here that wasn't Austin, but that seldom happened. Casey was much more accustomed to Austin simply walking in like he owned the place than someone knocking on his door. _

_Casey stepped to the door, taking the knob in hand, and turned it, pulling the door open… to an unexpected surprise._

_"Clara?" he choked._

She was dressed much as she had been that night. Her blond hair pulled back in a low ponytail at the nape of her neck, she wore the same short denim shorts with the frayed hems that she had worn when he had opened the door. But, instead of the white tank top that she had worn then, she wore an off-the-shoulder blue top that clung to the seamless curves of her upper body and tantalizing breasts. He looked at her back, his eyes lustfully trailing to her bottom as she worked barefoot at the stove.

He involuntarily snorted at the notion of her laboring barefoot and in the kitchen no less. She must have heard him, because her head snapped around. Instantly, she smiled and her chocolate eyes sparkled.

"Well hello there," she said, pausing in her stirring of some kind of sauce.

"Hey," he said, straightening and walk to stand behind her. He enveloped her about the waist in his arms and pulled her close so that her back was pressed to his chest. Ensconced in his arms, she rested the back of her head on his shoulder.

"How was your day?" she asked.

"Busy," he said, taking advantage of her neck being exposed because her hair was in a ponytail to plant small kisses on it.

"Someone's happy to see me," she purred, a brilliant smile appearing on her lips as his kisses reached the crook where her neck met her bare shoulder.

He laughed into her neck, but straightened and planted a kiss on the top of her head. Continuing to hold her, he chanced a look at the stove and the two pots on it. One held a thick, meaty tomato sauce and the other boiling water with pasta in it.

"Looks delicious, baby," he murmured.

"Yes, yes, I am," she said airily. "Oh, wait, you mean the food."

He laughed. "No, I think I meant both actually."

"Well," she said, resuming her stirring of the tomato sauce. "I should have dinner ready in about half an hour. Why don't you change into something else and relax?"

"Sure," he said. He released her, though he did so reluctantly, and turned, walking back toward the doorway into the living room but not before planting one last kiss on the top of her head. He glanced outside as he reached the doorway and paused. "You know, why don't we eat outside? It's a nice enough evening and a beachfront dinner would be romantic."

"I like that idea," she answered, looking at him.

He nodded and stepped into the living room. The room hadn't changed much since he had seen it before he had left for California. Nonetheless, it had acquired a womanly touch or two in the time since their return because of Clara. The larger-than-necessary television sat inside the sophisticated entertainment center with its array of gaming consoles between the front door and the corner where he kept his instruments, much as it had since he had lived here. The wall opposite that, bookended by the doorways into the kitchen and the short hallway leading to the bedrooms and the bathroom was lined with shelves. The middle shelf of the center shelving unit held an antique, but functional record player while the shelves around it held an impressive collection of vinyl.

The couch and coffee table dominated the center of the room between the two walls. The wall between the hallway to the bedrooms and the corner with his instruments held a desk space with built-in filing cabinets and overhead cabinets to store various items. The wall between the front door and the kitchen held framed family photos. His parents, his grandmother, her parents, her aunt, and their friends smiled in those photos.

He started toward the hallway to the bedrooms. But before he reached the master bedroom, he paused at the door to the spare bedroom, Austin's bedroom. He laid his hand on the doorknob and slowly turned it, pushing the door open slowly. It opened easily and he leaned on the doorframe. The room looked much as it had when Austin had last occupied it. It had been cleaned in the intervening months. He could see where Clara's hands had been busy. The piles of clothes the blond had had around the room washed and neatly folded inside the dresser or hung in the closet. The bed was made, but those were the only differences from when Austin had been in there. The band posters remained on the walls, every instrument except his guitar was on their stands, and it was as though time had stopped inside the room since his departure.

He allowed his mind to wander as he stared into the room and he wondered whether the blond would return. The standard Army enlistment was four years and Austin's training and deployment to Afghanistan had taken up a year and a half of that. But, what would happen when he was discharged? Would he come back in the front door as though the years in between then and now hadn't happened?

He couldn't return to his parents' house. His father had practically disowned him when he enlisted and tossed him out on the street with barely the clothes on his back. Would Austin become their roommate because he had nowhere else to live? He could picture them living together, hanging out on the deck in the backyard before lighting the bonfire. He and Austin could watch the sunset to the sound of their guitars while Clara watched.

He smiled at the mental picture of them sitting out on the sand like they use to and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. But, in order for that to happen, he needed the mend his friendship with Austin.

He continued on to the master bedroom, their bedroom. It had been his bedroom before he had headed out to California, but since their return it had become their bedroom. He paused beside the bed to admire the framed photo she kept on her side.

She held him close to her side, holding onto him while she simultaneously held a bouquet. They weren't traditionally dressed, but they hadn't cared about the trappings of a traditional wedding. They had opted instead for a modest justice of the peace ceremony. He wore a t-shirt, tattered jeans, and Converse. She wore an identical outfit, but with a different t-shirt. But, there was no denying the happy, maddeningly wide smiles on their faces as they stood together.

He smiled at the picture. But, glancing at the clock beside it, he sighed. Pulling his phone, wallet, and keys from his pockets he set them on the table on his side of the bed, plugging in his phone to charge. He opened the doors to their walk-in closet and padded to a cabinet at the middle of the racks on one side. He opened the cabinet to reveal a safe sitting on a shelf above a rack of clothing. He keyed in the proper code on the safe and heard its lock release. He turned the handle and opened the heavy door to reveal the interior. Divided into an upper and lower shelf, the safe held their important documents: birth certificates, passports, and the like on its lower shelf along with several stacks of various currencies bound in paper bands.

The upper shelf held something else.

Stacked in three rows of two apiece were six fully loaded spare magazines for a SIG Sauer P229 pistol.

The pistol itself was absent, but that was because it was securely tucked in his jeans at the small of his back. He reached behind himself now with both hands, lifting his shirt in one hand and pulling the stainless steel pistol from his jeans with the other. He carefully placed the loaded pistol inside the safe beside the extra magazines. Small and compact, the P229 was ideal because its size made it easy to conceal and carry in case he needed it.

He carried it out of habit, a habit he had begun in California.

It had come in handy while he had been there.

He closed the safe, shaking his head to banish the memories of his time in the Golden State. Removing his jeans, he placed them inside the hamper less Clara complain about him leaving them in the middle of the floor. He grabbed a pair of basketball shorts and, choosing to go barefoot, tossed his socks in the hamper as well. He closed the cabinet and started to head back to the kitchen.

"Casey," he heard her call.

"Coming, baby," he responded.

He reached the kitchen to find that she had set out plates and utensils along with a salad tossed with Italian dressing and garlic bread. He salivated at the sight. Grabbing a fork and a plate, he started to pile his plate with food before walking toward the sliding patio door to the deck, snagging a bottle of water from the refrigerator on his way. He set his plate on the small table near the fire pit and sank into one of the comfortable chairs that encircled it. Moments later, Clara joined, choosing the chair beside him. They ate in comfortable silence for a minute before she turned to him.

"So, what did you do today?"

He chewed quietly and took a sip from his bottle water before he answered. "I drove around mainly, checking out the old haunts. I know I wasn't out in California for long, but I wanted to see whether they had changed or not."

She nodded her head. "Yeah, I did same thing with me before I went shopping. I was out in California longer than you, but it didn't look like much had changed."

"It's nice to be back here," he commented. "I hadn't really noticed how much I missed it."

"We spent a lot of years here," she noted. "You, me… Austin."

He paused and looked at her before turning his attention to the plate in front of him. "Yeah… about that… I went to the diner today."

"Oh," she said. "Why did you do that?"

"I don't know. I mean, it was the last place I had seen him."

_He watched as Austin climbed out of the car the smoothed his uniform before closing the door. His Converse-clad foot found the pedal and Daisy leapt into motion. With her customary throaty roar, she sped down the street, leaving the diner behind her, and Casey forced himself to turn his attention to the road ahead… and not the receding figure of his closest friend standing on the curb._

"What did you do?"

He question pulled him from his reprieve and he shook his head. "I stopped, I went in, and I probably shouldn't have done that."

"Why do you say that?"

"I met one of the people that work there," he paused, unsure of whether he should proceed. In the end, he knew he had to tell her. "Her name was Ally… and she said Austin was her boyfriend."

Clara sat back in her seat and her eyes widened in surprise. "Austin is her…"

"Boyfriend," he repeated.

"Oh, Casey," she took his hand in one of hers to reassure him and he sent her a small smile. "What did you do?"

"I… panicked," he admitted. He didn't miss the momentary widening of her eyes a second time in less than a minute at his admission of that he had panicked. She had seen him in any number of states, but one she had never seen him in was a panic. It took a lot to rattle him and she knew it, but, on the other hand, Austin Moon was a topic that went to his very core. She had no doubt that an unexpected encounter with someone connected to the blond would have shaken him. "I didn't know what to do, so I ran out of there. I needed time to think."

Clara was quiet for a long moment. "Do you think it was a lie?"

"What reason would she have to lie?" he countered.

"I don't know," Clara said. "We've run into people that have lied to us before, Casey. But, you know what it could mean if it isn't a lie. It would mean an opportunity to reconnect with Austin."

"I know."

She sensed her husband's reluctance in the shortness of his answer and frowned. "You okay?"

He sighed, setting his fork aside momentarily. "He has a lot on his plate, Clara. His parents basically disowned him, the Army, and now apparently he has a girlfriend... I just don't know whether telling him what we learned in California will help or hurt him at the moment. Hell, he doesn't even know we're back in town. It's not like we've stayed in touch lately. We didn't exactly part of the best terms."

"He needs to know, Casey. Austin deserves to know."

"I know, baby," he said earnestly. He returned to his meal. "I know."


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own, nor do I profit from, the Disney Channel program 'Austin & Ally' or the characters therein. They are simply used in the following story for my own entertainment. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

><p>Those We Leave Behind<p>

Chapter Four

There were times when Austin couldn't help but dwell on the past as much as his enlistment had been an attempt to leave it behind him. He had never done something that would keep him up at night, but nonetheless there were times when sleep was elusive to him. Now was no exception. Laying in his bunk in his Army issue boxers, he listened quietly to the silence around him and the absence of every sound except the sounds of his roommates sleeping in their bunks. Above him Tyler was still in his bunk while both Taylor and Rocky were as motionless on their bunks on the other side of the room, leaving him without a single distraction to stop his mind when it meandered.

He closed his eyes momentarily and rubbed them with the heels of his palms. He was tired and, as much as he wished he could will himself to it, sleep had thus far eluded him. His mind was out of step with his exhausted body, keeping him awake to stare blankly at the bottom of Tyler's bunk and listen to the steady, even breathing of his bunkmate. He hadn't been sleeping well of late and, when he did sleep, he inevitably succumbed to nightmares that shook him to his very core. He hadn't told anyone else about them, but they were coming more frequently now.

Resigned that his chances at a peaceful sleep was but a distant illusion, he closed his eyes again and tried hard to think of something that would relax him. He tried to concentrate on something other than the horrors of war he had witnessed recently. Strangely his mind indulged him and took him somewhere totally unexpected as he surrendered to a restless sleep at last.

_Red._

_That was the color of the underwear he had chosen to wear. Bright, solid red trunk boxer briefs with the Hollister brand name in white letters on the red waistband. The small, almost too small, underwear molded to his body and accented it nicely, and emphasized his toned muscular curves in the proper places. Their tautness and their bold color on his tanned skin would ensure that he received the response he desired. Austin knew he was irresistible to women, but it never hurt to have that something extra to entice them further. _

_He was even aroused seeing himself in them in the bathroom mirror._

_He was certain his date would love them._

_He took one more moment to check himself in the mirror, making a minor adjustment to his hair, and returned to the bedroom on the other side of the hall. He was at Casey's house at the moment, preparing for his date in order to avoid question from his parents that he didn't want to answer, and he strutted into the spare bedroom that he had claimed as his own. He wasn't surprised to see his raven haired, blue eyed friend lounging on the bed, his back to the headboard while he absently strummed the acoustic guitar in his lap._

_When he entered, Casey paused to look at him appraisingly, with one eyebrow raised in an amused expression, and shook his head with a chuckle before resuming plucking the strings of his guitar._

_"What?" he asked, turning his back momentarily on his friend while he pulled a pair of Hollister medium wash destroyed denim skinny jeans from the second drawer of the dresser, stepping into them one leg at a time._

_Casey snorted. "Dude, you're having dinner with your parents and hers at your house. What are you trying to do? Make her want to jump the table and take you on the spot?"_

_He smirked at that. His 'date' was indeed a family affair, the twice a month Saturday night event when his parents had the Grahams, their largest mattress suppliers, to dinner, hoping to score a discount on their merchandise. He would have happily avoided it if he could, but his parents hadn't allowed him that option. He had been certain he would loathe it like he loathed anything having to do with their store. That had been before he had laid eyes on Sandra Graham, the Grahams' daughter. Once he had seen her, his interest in those twice monthly dinners had risen quickly. An interest, he learned quickly, that was mutual. Fortunately, their parents had been completely oblivious and content to allow them to excuse themselves to his room after dinner._

_They had spent the rest of her time at his parents' house in his bed. That had been the middle of junior year and he had been seeing her twice a month since that dinner with the same result._

_Now, he zipped his jeans closed and secured the button, imagining their parents' expressions were she to start wildly riding him at the dinner table. He smiled a crooked smile._

_Talk about dessert._

_He chuckled, pulling a pair of socks from the top drawer of the dresser. He walked to the bed and sat beside Casey, unrolling the socks. He bent at the waist and pulled his leg to his chest to put them on while he shook his head. He shot Casey a knowing smirk. "Maybe I am."_

_Casey rolled his eyes at him. "Aren't you with Brianna?"_

_"Dude, she was so last week," he said as he waved a hand dismissively. He and Brianna had been an item since hooking up at her party, but it hadn't been a serious commitment. Each of them had wanted something from the other and they had each been happy to indulge the other to attain it. "Besides, it isn't like we were dating or something."_

_"My mistake, it's difficult to keep track with you sometimes," Casey smirked._

_"Funny," Austin deadpanned. He bounced to his feet and padded to the closet, rummaging inside it for a shirt. A minute later, he pulled a white Hollister t-shirt from its hanger and slipping it on his body. "What about you?"_

_"What about me?" Casey asked, one eyebrow raised again in question._

_"What are you doing tonight?"_

_Casey bowed his head, continuing his strumming. Austin noticed that the cords he was playing sounded sad, the notes lonesome. "Oh, probably hanging out here."_

_Austin frowned, a pang of sympathy and sadness in his heart. His friend was heartbroken, he knew, the love of his life now on the other side of the country. Their romance had been brief, lasting only a week before she had had to move, though Austin suspected they had been intimate for several years before that. But, it had been intense and passionate. He hadn't seen much of his friend in that week and he had never been happier for him. Casey had never really had a lot of people that meant as much to him as Clara had. He sincerely hoped that the two of them could reconnect at some point. For now, though, he had the unfortunate task of reassembling the pieces of his friend's shattered heart._

_"Hey," he said, stepping back to the bed and sinking onto the mattress beside his friend. He turned his body and laid a hand on Casey's shoulder, the boy halted his strumming, but didn't to look at him. He continued to stare at the instrument in his hands. "Maybe when I'm done with my date I can swing back here. I'll tell my parents I'm staying at Dylan's or something."_

_"You don't have to," Casey answered._

_He squeezed the boy's shoulder. "I want to," he told him. "We can pull an all-nighter and mess around."_

_Casey lifted his eyes to look at him at last. The hollow stare those deep, broken blue orbs focused on him made him wince at the pain behind them. When he spoke it was so low it was almost an inaudible whisper. "I'd like that."_

_"Then it's a date," Austin assured him, clapping him on the back._

_"Dude," Casey said, laughing lightly with a shake of his head despite his darkly somber mood. "That sounds so gay."_

_"I know," Austin said, pretending to think about it before pointing a finger at his friend. He was happy to see his friend's attempt at levity. It told him that the old Casey he had known most of his life still resided within the boy beside him. "You better not try anything."_

_"Me?" Casey said, smiling. Austin was even happier to see his friend's mood brighten. "You're the one that has no problem walking around my place in your underwear. I think you're the one that will try to pull something."_

_But, their jovial banter was interrupted before Austin could respond as the blond's phone vibrated on the bedside table. He quickly scooped it into his hand to stop its dancing around the table and checked it. He wasn't surprised to see he had a new text. He slid his thumb on the screen and tapped in his passcode. He didn't bother to hide his actions from Casey. He already knew the code._

_**We're leaving for your house. I can't wait to see you. ;)**_

_He heard Casey snort and turned his head to see him reading the text over his shoulder._

_"You better head home," Casey said, wiggling his eyebrows before he nodded at the phone in Austin's hand. "It looks like someone really wants her Austin time."_

_Austin chuckled and retrieved his keys and wallet from the table. "Yeah, I better."_

_Almost as one, the two boys rose from the bed. Casey laid the guitar on the bedspread and put his hands in his pockets, following Austin to the living room quietly on bare feet. Austin paused by the door to slip on his Converse before he directed a look of concern at his friend who stood near him._

_"You okay until I'm back?"_

_Casey hesitated. "Yeah," he said unconvincingly. "No. I don't know."_

_Austin nodded sadly, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder again. "You need me, you call or text me."_

_"Thanks," Casey whispered._

_Austin wrapped his arms around his friend, pulling him into a brotherly hug. He released him and stepped back. Stepping to the door, he opened it and left with one last look at his friend. He walked on the short path to the driveway; he used his keys to unlock his car and climbed in behind the wheel. It was a nice car, not as nice as Daisy parked beside it, but sufficient for his needs as much as he wanted a sleek sports car or authoritative muscle car like the Charger. But, he couldn't really complain, he supposed. Despite his issues with his parents, they had purchased him the car, though he was certain it wasn't without several strings attached._

_He drove along the service lane that allowed access to Casey's property and onto the main road leading back into the city. It wasn't a long drive before he was back at the house he shared with his parents. He decided to park on the street in front of the house next door to leave the space in front of the house open for the Grahams. He was at the door and pushing it open not too long after that, stepping inside the foray to an outwardly empty house._

_"I'm home," he called._

_"Good," his mother called back immediately from the direction of the kitchen. She walked out into the dining room, cleaning her hands on a towel. "The Grahams are due any moment. Why don't you wait in your room and we'll send Sandra up when they've arrived. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you."_

_He smirked. He knew she would. "Sure, Mom," he called back, climbing the stairs two at a time until he reached the top. He was halfway up when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out to see he had a new text. He checked it, his smirk widening into a smile._

_**We're almost there. You ready for me, sexy?**_

_He sauntered along the hall until he reached his room, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. He removed his shoes and socks, tossing them unceremoniously beside the door on his way toward his bed. Taking the waist of his jeans in his hands, he __popped the button of his jeans and unzipped the zipper, and lowered his jeans on his hips before hopping onto his bed. _

_He __paused before he lay back on his pillows and shot a quick look at his unlocked bedroom door. He bit his bottom lip. He hadn't seen his father downstairs, but he knew his mother was busy in the kitchen preparing dinner. His father was most likely in there with her or in his study practicing the lame jokes he told at dinner in the mirror, but there was no reason either of them would come into his room unnoticed now._

_They hadn't in the past. He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment and decided it was a risk worth taking, especially with it being so close to the time that his "date" for the night would arrive. Besides, he had to admit that there was something exciting and arousing about the possibility of being caught. He already had an ache between his hips._

_Phone in hand, he tapped in a response to her text._

_**I'm ready for you. Just like you like me.**_

_He tapped the send button and set his phone on the table beside his bed. Putting his back to the headboard of his bed, he reclined into his pillows and put his hands behind his head. Interlacing his fingers, he crossed his ankles and stretched out to relaxed, letting his mind dwell on the acts he was about to commit with Sandra and the erection in his underwear hardened further until it was almost painful._

_Fortunately, he didn't have to stay in that state for long. Minutes later, he heard the doorbell ring downstairs along the sound of hushed voice as his parents conversed with the Grahams. Not surprising, it wasn't long before he heard the sound of a single person climbing the stairs. His bedroom door opened quietly and only enough to allow a single person to slip into the room. He looked at her as she looked at him and their eyes met, his hazel connected with her warm chocolate brown. She closed the door, one hand locking it behind her without looking, and hurried to his bed, climbing onto it between his legs almost like a predator pouncing on a kill. He released his hands behind his head and took hold of her waist as she crawled onto his chest, her lips meeting his in a lustful kiss._

_He moaned as one of her hands slid along his body and between his hips, cupping him in her palm._

_"Someone's excited to see me," she murmured when they came apart, separating from him._

_"Always," he breathed, closing his eyes and lulling his head back for a moment at her touch as she cradled him in her palm. She massaged him as she held him. "Fuck."_

_"Let's not waste any time. Your Mom will have dinner ready soon," she told him. "Lose the shirt."_

_She sat back on his thighs to allow him the space to remove his shirt and he sat forward at the waist. He reached behind his head and took hold of the collar of his shirt, removing it in one swift pull. He laid it aside on the bedspread beside them and sat back. He watched her admire his hard chest, sculpted abs, and taunt stomach, watched her lick her lips hungrily. She lifted her eyes to look at him through her lashes._

_"So, your Mom says you're graduating early?"_

_"Yes, next week."_

_"Hmm… I think you deserve a reward for that."_

_He nodded with a cocky smirk. "Yeah, I like that idea."_

_She slid her hand out from between his hips and placed both her hands on either side of his thighs above his jeans. He raised his body from the mattress so she could remove them and she did exactly that, sliding them to his ankles. She tossed them aside on the floor before looking at him appraisingly as he lay before her in only his red underwear._

_"I do love red," she murmured. He sat back and laid his arms at his side, closing his eyes while her head descended into his lap, her hands pulled back the waistband of his underwear, and her mouth went to work on him._

_She had been correct. It was sooner rather than later when his mother had called them to dinner. Fortunately, Sandra had finished him not to long before and he dressed quickly. The two of them sat on the same side of the dining room table, exchanging knowing looks and conspiratorial smiles while their parents were oblivious. Neither of them spoke much in the course of the meal, choosing instead to allow their parents to ramble on about mattresses. Instead, he focused his attention on her and watched her slowly eat her meal. He observed her as she cut a piece of her steak and raised it to her mouth, her eyes never leaving him. She put it in her mouth slowly, sensually pulling the fork out from between her lips. She chewed quietly, looking at him seductively. He was thankful now that he sat as close to the table as he could, a renewed hardness in his jeans._

_Maybe she would jump the table and take him in front of their parents._

_They finished their meals and were excused, heading back upstairs to his room. They had only reached the top of the stairs, out of sight of the dining room, when her hands snaked around him from behind, halting him in the middle of the hallway. One of her hands grasped his chest while the other slid beneath his waist, closing around him on the outside of his jeans. She held him in her palm a second time and leaned in to his ear._

_"Mmm… looks like someone's ready for me to blow him again," she whispered._

_He bit his lip, looking quickly down the stairs behind them, before he turned to her. He could hear laughter from the dining room as her parents and his mother undoubtedly humored his father when he told one of his lame jokes. He chewed on his lip. Everyone downstairs was occupied for the moment and as much as he was excited by the idea of possibly being caught, he really didn't want either of their parents to come out of the dining room to chance a look up the stairs and perhaps see them. He turned to her. "Here?"_

_She too looked back down the stairs, her hands on the button and zipper of his jeans. She absently unzipped and zipped his jeans as she contemplated her next move. Their parents' voices clearly heard from the dining room, she nodded her head as she made a decision, popped the button of his jeans, and pulled the zipper open one last time. Her hand was inside quickly, cupping his renewed erection in her palm through his underwear._

_"I love how you're always so ready," she murmured._

_She kissed his neck, sucking on the same area for a protracted period of time in an obvious attempt to leave a mark. He rolled his head to the side so that she would have to break contact. _

_"__I don't mind hickeys," he told her huskily. "But, you really leave them where our parents won't see them."_

_She pulled her bottom lip in a pout, but nodded. "Maybe you should lose the shirt so I leave them somewhere else…"_

_He smirked at her. He was about to do exactly as she wanted when another chorus of laughter erupted from below in the dining room. They were statues at the top of the stairs in that instant and she pulled her hand from inside his jeans._

_"__Come on," she said quietly, taking his hand in hers. She led him to his bedroom, closing the door behind them. Now sooner were they on the other side than did she shove him back into it, reaching out to lock it as she pressed him into it with her body._

_"So, what do we do now?"_

_"Well," she said, sliding her palms up his body and around his neck as she stepped closer. "We could have some more fun or… we could head out. I know someone that's having a party tonight; her parents are out of town. I'm already heading there when I'm done here for what my parents' think is a sleepover. We could tell our parents that you're take me there to save them the trip."_

_He swallowed. "Um, I like the sound of that."_

_"Good," she said. "I'll text her and let her know we're on our way."_

_She did and her phone vibrated a minute later. "She's cool with me bringing you along. We should head to her place. She's excited to have __**Austin Moon**__ coming to her party."_

_He smirked. "Than what are we waiting for?"_

_He zipped and buttoned his jeans, following her downstairs and into the dining room. They explained their plans, leaving out the party, and he added that he would head to Dylan's after supposedly taking her to her friend's house so that he could head to Casey's as he had promised when they were done at the party. Their parents' listened politely, nodded in agreement, and with minutes they were out of the house and in his car, headed toward her friend's house._

_"Take the backstreets," she told him._

_"What… why? That'll take longer."_

_"Exactly," she answered._

_He was about to ask her what she meant when her hand slid into his lap between his hips. His eyes never left the road, but he heard the telltale sound of a zipper being opened and he tensed as her hand slid inside his now unzipped jeans. He tried to concentrate on the road as her head returned to his lap, her mouth on him as he drove. He clenched the wheel and tried not to moan as her tongue went to work on him. _

_They reached her friend's house without incident and he followed her to the door, the sound of loud music easily heard from the door. He spent another two hours there with her, allowing her and her friend to take turns with him. They danced and drank before heading into a bedroom. He was tried and more than somewhat drunk when he returned to Casey's house, but prepared to pull an all-nighter as he had promised Casey they would. He parked beside Daisy and walked to the door, stumbling somewhat as he concentrated on walking properly despite his inebriated state. He wasn't that drunk, but he was impaired._

_He didn't bother to ring the doorbell or knock. He merely used the key Casey had given him to unlock the door and walk in like he lived there._

_He halted as soon as he entered._

_Before him, slouched on the couch and staring blankly at the television, was Casey, a beer bottle held in his hand while an empty couple of six-packs sat in front of him on the coffee table. Austin closed the door and walked to his friend, planting himself on the couch beside him. He took a moment to look at Casey with an observant eye, noting his disheveled clothes and even more than normal disheveled hair. He could see the look in Casey's eyes. It was the look Austin had had numerous times in the past before he had made the choice to drink less at Casey's insistence._

_Talk about role reversal, Austin observed._

_"Took you long enough," Casey slurred, not looking at him._

_"Took longer than I expected," Austin told him, his speech not as slurred but slurred nonetheless. He motioned at the empty six-packs. "How many of those have you had?"_

_"I dunno," Casey said, shaking his head. "I wasn't c-c-counting."_

_"Well, I think you've had enough," he told his friend, taking the half-drunk bottle he held from his hand and turned off the television with the remote._

_Casey turned his head to look at him. "Is it time to mess around? Let's mess around."_

_His friend tried to stand and immediately stumbled back onto the couch._

_Austin shook his head, saddened by his friend's state. He wondered for a moment whether it was the state he had been in when he had drunk more than he did now and he immediately knew that it was. He remembered the times Casey had taken care of him when he was in that state, too. It was time to return the favor. "I think it's time for bed."_

_"What… bed?"_

_"Yes, bed. Like sleep," Austin told him._

_"Okay," Casey said, poking him in the chest. "But, there had better be no funny business, mister."_

_Austin laughed. He stood as best he could and turned to help Casey to his feet. Putting Casey's arm around his neck, he started toward the hallway leading to the bedrooms. Once inside the master bedroom, he pulled back the covers on the bed as best he could while supporting Casey and rolled the raven haired boy onto the bed. Noticing his friend's eyes drooping, he quickly pulled the covers into place on top of him._

_"Good night, dude," Austin whispered._

_He was about to leave the room when Casey spoke. "Austin, why did she have to leave?"_

_He closed his eyes, placing a hand on the doorframe. "Her aunt had to move because of her job."_

_"She left me."_

_"She didn't want to leave you," he reassured his friend. "She loved you, but she didn't have a choice in the matter. Remember that."_

_"__Do you think I'll see her again?"_

_"__I hope so. I hope so."_

_The room was silent after that, a quick look at the raven haired boy telling Austin he had passed out, and so he stepped out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him so his friend could rest._


End file.
